The
Buyid dynastyBuyid dynasty or the Buyids (Persian: آل بویه‎ Āl-e
Buye), also known as Buwaihids, Bowayhids, Buyahids, or Buyyids, was
an Iranian Shia dynasty[3] of Daylamite origin.[4] Coupled with the
rise of other Iranian dynasties in the region, the approximate century
of Buyid rule represents the period in Iranian history sometimes
called the 'Iranian Intermezzo' since, after the Muslim conquest of
Persia, it was an interlude between the rule of the Abbasid Caliphate
and the Seljuk Empire.[5]
The
Buyid dynastyBuyid dynasty was founded by '
AliAli ibn Buya, who in 934 conquered
Fars and made
ShirazShiraz his capital, while his younger brother Hasan ibn
Buya conquered parts of
JibalJibal in the late 930s, and by 943 managed to
capture Ray, which he made his capital. In 945, the youngest brother,
Ahmad ibn Buya, conquered
IraqIraq and made
BaghdadBaghdad his capital, receiving
the honorific title of "Mu'izz al-Dawla" ("Fortifier of the State"),
while '
AliAli was given the title of "'Imad al-Dawla" ("Support of the
State"), and Hasan was given the title of "Rukn al-Dawla" ("Pillar of
the State").
As Daylamite Iranians the Buyids consciously revived symbols and
practices of Iran's Sasanian Empire.[6] In fact, beginning with 'Adud
al-Dawla they used the ancient Sasanian title Shahanshah
(شاهنشاه), literally "king of kings".[7][8]
At its greatest extent, the
Buyid dynastyBuyid dynasty encompassed most of today's
Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, and Syria, along with parts of Oman, the UAE,
Turkey,
AfghanistanAfghanistan and Pakistan. During the 10th and 11th centuries,
just prior to the invasion of the Seljuq Turks, the Buyids were the
most influential dynasty in the Middle East,[9] and under king 'Adud
al-Dawla, became briefly the most powerful dynasty in the Middle
East.[10]

Contents

1 Origins
2 History

2.1 Rise (934-945)
2.2 Height of power and Golden age (945-983)
2.3 Decline and fall (983–1048)

3 Government

3.1 Military

4 Religion
5 Buyid rulers

5.1 Major rulers
5.2 Minor rulers

6 Family tree
7 See also
8 References
9 Sources
10 External links

Origins[edit]
The word Būya (
ArabicArabic Buwayh) is a
Middle PersianMiddle Persian name ending in the
diminutive ـویه (
Middle PersianMiddle Persian -ōē, modern Persian -ūya,
ArabicArabic -uwayh). The Buyids were descendants of Panah-Khusrau, a
Zoroastrian from Daylam. He had a son named Buya, who was a fisherman
from Lahijan,[11] and later left
ZoroastrianismZoroastrianism and converted to
Islam.[12]:274 Buya later had three sons named Ahmad, 'Ali, and Hasan,
who would later carve the Buyid kingdom together. Most historians
agree that the Buyids were
Daylamites.[12]:251–52[13][14][15][16][17][18][19] The Buyids
claimed royal lineage from Bahram V, 15th king of the Sasanian
Empire.[20]
History[edit]
Rise (934-945)[edit]
The founder of the dynasty, '
AliAli ibn Buya, was originally a soldier in
the service of the Daylamite warlord Makan ibn Kaki,[21] but later
changed his adherence to the Iranian ruler Mardavij, who had
established the Ziyarid dynasty, and was himself related to the ruling
dynasty of Gilan,[22] a region bordering Dailam. '
AliAli was later joined
by his two younger brothers,
Hasan ibn BuyaHasan ibn Buya and Ahmad ibn Buya. In
932, '
AliAli was given
KarajKaraj as his fief, and thus was able to enlist
other
DaylamitesDaylamites into his own army. However, 'Ali's independent
actions made
MardavijMardavij plan to have him killed, but fortunately for
'Ali, he was informed of Mardavij's plan by the latter's own vizier.
The Buyids brother, with 400 of their Daylamite supporters, then fled
to Fars,[23] where they managed to take control of Arrajan.[24]
However, the Buyids and the Abbasid general Yaqut shortly came into a
struggle for the control of Fars, which the Buyids eventually emerged
victorious in.[21] This victory opened the way for the conquest of the
capital of Fars, Shiraz.[25]
'
AliAli also made an alliance with the landowners of Fars, which included
the Fasanjas family, which would later produce many prominent
statesmen for the Buyids. Furthermore, '
AliAli also to enlist more
soldiers, which included the Turks, who were made part of cavalry.
'
AliAli then sent his brother Ahmad on an expedition to Kirman, but was
forced to withdraw from them after opposition from the Baloch people
and the Qafs.[26] However, Mardavij, who sought to depose the Abbasid
caliph of
BaghdadBaghdad and recreate a Zoroastrian Iranian Empire, shortly
wrested Khuzestan from the Abbasids and forced '
AliAli to recognize him
as his suzerain.[27]
Luckily for the Buyids,
MardavijMardavij was shortly assassinated in 935,
which caused chaos in the Ziyarid territories, a perfect situation for
the Buyid brothers;
AliAli and Ahmad conquered Khuzistan, while Hasan
captured the Ziyarid capital of Isfahan, and in 943 captured Rey,
which became his capital, thus conquering all of Jibal. In 945, Ahmad
entered
IraqIraq and made the Abbasid Caliph his vassal, at the same
receiving the laqab Mu'izz ad-Dawla ("Fortifier of the State"), while
'
AliAli was given the laqab Imād al-Dawla ("Support of the State"), and
Hasan was given the laqab
Rukn al-DawlaRukn al-Dawla ("Pillar of the State").
Height of power and Golden age (945-983)[edit]
In addition to the other territories the Buyids had conquered, Kirman
was conquered in 967,
OmanOman (967), the Jazira (979),
TabaristanTabaristan (980),
and
GorganGorgan (981). After this, however, the Buyids went into a slow
decline, with pieces of the confederation gradually breaking off and
local dynasties under their rule becoming de facto independent.
Decline and fall (983–1048)[edit]
The death of
Adud al-DawlaAdud al-Dawla is considered the starting point of the
decline of the Buyid dynasty;[28] his son
Abu KalijarAbu Kalijar Marzuban, who
was in
BaghdadBaghdad at the time of his death, first kept his death secret
in order to ensure his succession and avoid civil war. When he made
the death of his father public, he was given the title of "Samsam
al-Dawla". However, Adud's other son, Shirdil Abu'l-Fawaris,
challenged the authority of Samsam al-Dawla, resulting in a civil
war.[29] Meanwhile, a Marwanid chieftain named Badh, seized Diyabakr
and forced
Samsam al-DawlaSamsam al-Dawla to recognize him as the vassal ruler of the
region.[29] Furthermore,
Mu'ayyad al-DawlaMu'ayyad al-Dawla also died during this
period, and he was succeeded by Fakhr al-Dawla, who with the aid of
Mu'ayyad al-Dawla's vizier
Sahib ibn 'AbbadSahib ibn 'Abbad became the ruler of
Mu'ayyad al-Dawla's possessions.[30] Another son of Adud al-Dawla, Abu
Tahir Firuzshah, established himself as the ruler of
BasraBasra and took
the title of "Diya' al-Dawla", while another son, Abu'l-Husain Ahmad,
established himself as the ruler of Khuzistan, taking the title of
"Taj al-Dawla".
Shirdil Abu'l-Fawaris (known by his title of "Sharaf al-Dawla")
quickly seized
OmanOman from Samsam al-Dawla, and in 983, the Turkic
troops of
Samsam al-DawlaSamsam al-Dawla mutinied against him, and left
IraqIraq for
Fars, but most of them were persuaded by his relative Ziyar ibn
Shahrakawayh to stay in Iraq. However, unfortunately for Samsam
al-Dawla,
IraqIraq was in grim affairs, and several rebellions occurred,
which he however, managed to suppress, the most dangerous rebellion
being under Asfar ibn Kurdawayh, who tried to make Abu Nasr Firuz
Kharshadh (known by his title of "Baha' al-Dawla") the ruler of Iraq.
During the same period,
Samsam al-DawlaSamsam al-Dawla also managed to seize Basra
and Khuzistan, forcing his two brothers to flee to Fakhr al-Dawla's
territory.
During the mid-11th century, the Buyid amirates gradually fell to the
GhaznavidGhaznavid and Seljuq Turks. In 1029, Majd al-Dawla, who was facing an
uprising by his Dailami troops in Ray, requested assistance from
Mahmud of Ghazna.[31] When Sultan Mahmud arrived, he deposed Majd
al-Dawla, replaced him with a
GhaznavidGhaznavid governor and ended the Buyid
dynasty in Ray.[32][33]
In 1055,
TughrulTughrul conquered Baghdad, the seat of the caliphate, and
ousted the last of the Buyid rulers.[34] Like the Buyids, the Seljuqs
kept the
Abbasid caliphateAbbasid caliphate as the titular ruler.[35]
Government[edit]
The Buyids established a confederation in
IraqIraq and western Iran. This
confederation formed three principalities - one in Fars, with Shiraz
as its capital - the second one in Jibal, with Ray as its capital -
and the last one in Iraq, with
BaghdadBaghdad as its capital. However, during
their late period, more principalities formed in the Buyid
confederation. Succession of power was hereditary, with fathers
dividing their land among their sons.
The title used by the Buyid rulers was amir, meaning "governor" or
"prince". Generally one of the amirs would be recognized as having
seniority over the others; this individual would use the title of amir
al-umara,[8] or senior amir. Although the senior amīr was the formal
head of the Būyids, he did not usually have any significant control
outside of his own personal amirate; each amir enjoyed a high degree
of autonomy within his own territories. As mentioned above, some of
the stronger amirs used the
SassanidSassanid title of Shahanshah. Furthermore,
several other titles such as malik ("king"), and malik al-muluk ("king
of kings"), were also used by the Buyids. On a smaller scale, the
Buyid territory was also be ruled by princes from other families, such
as the Hasanwayhids.
Military[edit]

Artistic rendering of a Daylamite Buyid infantryman.

During the beginning of the Buyid dynasty, their army consisted mainly
of their fellow Daylamites, a warlike and brave people of mostly
peasant origin, who served as foot soldiers. The
DaylamitesDaylamites had a long
history of military activity dating back to the Sasanian period, and
had been mercenaries in various places in
IranIran and Iraq, and even as
far as Egypt. The Daylamites, during a battle, normally bore a sword,
a shield, and three spears. Furthermore, they were also known for
their formidable shield formation, which was hard to break
through.[36]
But when the Buyid territories increased, they began recruiting Turks
into their cavalry,[25] who had played a prominent role in the Abbasid
military.[37] The Buyid army also consisted of Kurds, who, along with
the Turks, were Sunnis, while the
DaylamitesDaylamites were Shi'i Muslims.[38]
However, the army of the Buyids of
JibalJibal mainly composed of
Daylamites.[39]
The
DaylamitesDaylamites and Turks often quarreled with each other in an attempt
to be the dominant force within the army.[40] To compensate their
soldiers the Buyid amīrs often distributed iqtāʾs, or the rights to
a percentage of tax revenues from a province (tax farming), although
the practice of payment in kind was also frequently used.[41] While
the Turks were favored in Buyid Iraq, the
DaylamitesDaylamites were favored in
Buyid Iran.[42]
Religion[edit]
Like most
DaylamitesDaylamites at the time, the Buyids were Shia and have been
called Twelvers. However, it is more likely that they began as
Zaydis.[43][44] As the reason of this turning from Zaydism to
Twelverism, Moojen Momen suggests that since the Buyids were not
descendants of Ali, the first Shi'i Imam, Zaydism would have urged
them to install an Imam from Ali's family. For that reason Buyids
tended toward Twelverism, which has an occulted Imam, which was more
politically attractive to them.[43]
The Buyids rarely attempted to enforce a particular religious view
upon their subjects except when in matters where it would be
politically expedient. The Sunni Abbasids retained the caliphate but
were deprived of all secular power.[45] In addition, in order to
prevent tensions between the Shia and the Sunnis from spreading to
government agencies, the Buyid amirs occasionally appointed Christians
to high offices instead of Muslims from either sect.[46]
Buyid rulers[edit]
Major rulers[edit]
Generally, the three most powerful Buyid amirs at any given time were
those in control of Fars,
JibalJibal and Iraq. Sometimes a ruler would come
to rule more than one region, but no Buyid rulers ever exercised
direct control of all three regions.
Buyids in Fars

Minor rulers[edit]
It was not uncommon for younger sons to found collateral lines, or for
individual Buyid members to take control of a province and begin
ruling there. The following list is incomplete.
Buyids in Basra

"Buyids" Tilman Nagel
Encyclopedia Iranica: DEYLAMITES
[1] The Buyid Domination as the Historical Background for the
Flourishing of Muslim Scholarship During the 4th/10th Century by Dr.
M. Ismail Marcinkowski
The Buwaihids in
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